Study on Bay Area High Schoolers With and Without Smartphones: Measures Productivity Doing Homework and Anxiety

Many iGen teens are “addicted” to their smartphones, unable to imagine a world without them. Many modern-day teens do homework with their phones in hand. Is this the most productive way work?

Objective: The objective of this study was to acquire qualitative data determining if restricting phone usage effects anxiety and productivity of high schoolers, especially when doing homework.

Method: This was a Double-Blind study I wrote and conducted. Students at a Bay Area private highschool students (N=34) in three scienceclasses participated in this study. First they filled out a pre-survey asking about average time spent doing homework, phone usage restrictions, preconceptions about their phone habits etc. All students downloaded and ran an app called Moment to track screen-time, which apps were in used and number of phone pick-ups. Group A (n=10) put their phone in another room, group B (n=8) had their phone next to them on airplane mode and group C (n=14) had no change. None of the classes were allowed to use their phone from 4-10pm. All students were required to fill out a post-survey with Likert scales regarding anxiety, productivity, attachment, insights etc. Students then sent the research assistant a screenshot of the timeline of pickups and total time on their phone from the Moment app. All students were 10th-12th grades.

Conclusion: Productivity increased when phones were inaccessible to the students. In the pre-survey, the average student said they spent 3-5 hours on homework nightly. The post-survey revealed that 47% of students spent less than 3 hours doing homework during specified nights.In addition, anxiety levels rose when phone usage was restricted. In the initial study, on a Likert scale from 1-10 (1 being very anxious), the most common selection for anxiety when able to access a phone was 8 (24.2%). On the identical scale in the post-survey, asking about anxiety levels when the phone was inaccessible, the most common selection was a 5 (23.5%).

Despite the rise in anxiety, survey questionnaire results revealed that many students were very thankful that they were “forced” to be off their phones, an opportunity they would not have had otherwise. One student said, “I actually worked a lot more efficiently knowing that my phone didn’t have to be a distraction. It was pretty nice.”

Why were you interested in this study?

I was interested in this study because as a teen, I experience and witness experiences where people cannot stand not being with their phone and get very anxious. I wanted to have some quantitative data that wasn’t just my assumptions. I personally know that I am much more productive when my phone is not near me and I wanted to see if this was the case for my peers. I also wanted to connect my Devices Divide campaign to my immediate high school community, those who need this awareness the most but may be the least likely to seek out research on the issue.

Class A (N=10)

Class B (N=10)

Class C (N=14)

PROTOCOL: Puts phone in another room and doesn’t use it at all from

4-10pm or when they are doing homework.

Fills out survey right after finishing

Send Moment screenshot of timeline of pickups and total time on phone.

PROTOCOL: Follows same protocol but has phone near them but on airplane mode

4-10pm or when they are doing homework.

Fills out survey right after finishing

Send Moment screenshot of timeline of pickups and total time on phone.

PROTOCOL: Follows same protocol but has phone near them but doesn’t LOOK

4-10pm or when they are doing homework.

Fills out survey right after finishing

Send Moment screenshot of timeline of pickups and total time on phone.

Results:

PRE-SURVEY

POST-SURVEY

34 completions

34 completions

What is your phone usage habit when you do HW?

Were you successful in following protocol? (44% yes) N=34

How satisfied are you with your phone usage habit when you do HW?

39% (lean toward change 5, 6, 7 response)

“I get distracted and have a hard time focusing”

“I definitely am addicted to my phone and go on it a lot while doing my homework. Often when my phone dies, I will then use my computer to text people. Using computers has made things harder to put phones away.”

12% neutral (4 response)

48% (Never want to change to not changing, 1, 2, or 3 )

“I very rarely check my phone, not only when I do homework, but also throughout the day.”

“I am usually able to ignore my phone when I need to.”

How many hours did you spend doing HW in last 24 hours?

Rate your anxiety when your phone is with you. (1= calm, 10 anxious)

69.7% more calm than anxious (mostly 1,2)

15.2% neutral

15.2% anxious (mostly 6, 9)

How many hours did you successfully restrict phone usage?

Rate your current anxiety when your phone is not with you… (1= calm, 10 anxious)

What did you use your phone for?

“I wanted to check instagram”

“It is the main source of communication for me”

“I kept on forgetting that I was doing the study because my phone was next to me”

“I accidentally used it to access this app, SONOS, which lowers the volume on our speakers. I forgot about the restriction”

“I didn’t feel like quickly responding to text messages would distract me too much from hw”

“I got a snapchat from my brother, and I opened it.”

Do you have screen restrictions normally at home?

70% said NO restrictions

Those that said yes:

“I try to not look at my phone at meals.”

“Sometimes my parents decide to take it away at 9:00 PM, but they aren’t reliable about it and are very flexible.”

“I’m not supposed to use it right before I go to bed.”

“not allowed to bring it upstairs/to my room”

How satisfied were you with your phone usage during this study? (1 not satisfied, 7 chillin)

“It was a weird feeling to not check my phone while I was doing homework. I usually do. It made me realize how dependent I am on my phone and how not using it can cause anxiety.”

“I actually worked a lot more efficiently knowing that my phone didn’t have to be a distraction. It was pretty nice.”

“I feel more focused and productive, but having my phone with me (at all times) is a comfort feeling.”

“I got into an argument online and felt as if I was surrendering.”

“I almost thought I lost it at the bottom of the bag but other than that I was more freaking out about my dance performance and watching other dances rather than worrying about my phone. Then I went to dinner, and then had to go back and do homework and by then I was really tired and I didn’t get a chance to go on my phone.”

“I feel disconnected from my friends when I don’t have my phone and I start to get anxiety”

Future Endeavors:

Phones and blue light affecting sleep

Phone’s effect on social interactions and relationships

Social exclusion when social media is not accessible

Are we missing more social life by being on our phones than we are when we aren’t on social media?

Phones and addiction

Are there ways to make phones that don’t signal these same pathways?

Pulse monitors to test anxiety

Disclaimer: Although this study was conducted under the supervision of a qualified science staff, this is not peer-reviewed scientific evidence and should not be treated as such.